1,000 protest in Phrae over 200-billion-baht Kaeng Suea Ten Dam plan

Approximately 1,000 residents gathered in Phrae to protest against the Pheu Thai Party’s plan to revive the contentious Kaeng Suea Ten Dam project in Song district.

The demonstrators assembled in tambon Sa Lab, carrying three coffins inscribed with the names of Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin, and Former Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi. These politicians are accused of being key players in resurrecting the dam project.

The protest was sparked by Phumtham’s recent comments on the government’s renewed focus on a 200-billion-baht (US$6 billion) water management programme, which includes constructing the dam to alleviate flooding in the Yom River basin.

Initially proposed in 1980, the Kaeng Suea Ten Dam project faced significant opposition from locals and environmentalists. The project was revisited in 2012 during the Yingluck Shinawatra administration but was shelved following the 2014 military coup.

Phumtham recently advocated for the dam, claiming it would help lower water levels in the Yom River, a tributary of the Chao Phraya River. This river flows through the Central Plains, including Bangkok, before reaching the Gulf of Thailand.

Somsak, leader of the Wang Nam Yom group with a political base in Sukhothai, and Plodprasop, former permanent secretary for natural resources and environment, both supported Phumtham’s proposal.

However, Harnnarong Yaowalers, President of the Foundation for Integrated Water Management, warned that the dam could destroy 40,000 rai of golden teak forests, one of the few remaining in the region, reported Bangkok Post.

He added that the project could also displace at least 2,000 families in three villages: Baan Mae Ten, Don Kaew, and Don Chai.

In related news, floodwaters from the Mekong River have surged over its banks, affecting agricultural areas and prompting calls for the Thai government to review water management plans and delay the construction of the Pak Beng Dam.